It’s looking there was some addition by subtraction for the Minnesota Timberwolves. After a drama-filled start to the season, the T-Wolves have played much better since the trade of disgruntled Jimmy Butler to the 76ers. The Timberwolves have won three consecutive games and will look to stay hot when they host the Boston Celtics in a game this week.
Boston entered the season as the favorite to win the Eastern Conference but has not looked like that team so far. The Celtics have a lot of talent but it hasn’t quite jelled. Boston will aim to pick up a road win and begin its climb to the top of the East.
The Timberwolves are back in the playoff race in the West but there is a lot of competition and needs to keep winning games in NBA gambling.
This NBA basketball game between the Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves will be held at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota at 8 p.m ET on Saturday, December 1st, 2018. The game will be nationally televised on NBA TV.
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Odds Analysis
The Timberwolves may only be 10-11 on the season but is a big improvement after their slow start. Minnesota has been particularly good at home this year with eight wins in 11 games.
The Celtics have started the year with an 11-10 mark. They have gone 6-7 on the road. While scoring has really gone up in the NBA in recent years these two teams have been in more low-scoring games than others so don’t look for the total to be too high in NBA odds.
Key Stat
6. That’s the number of victories the Timberwolves have racked up in the nine games since they traded away Butler. While he is unquestionably a talented player, Butler was making life miserable for everyone in Minnesota with his vocal trade demands.
The T-Wolves won three in a row immediately after the trade, knocking off the Nets, Pelicans and Trail Blazers. They ran into a little bit of a lull by dropping games to the Grizzlies and Nuggets, but have bounced back lately with consecutive victories over the Nets, Bulls and Cavaliers.
Karl Anthony Towns was inconsistent early in the year but has been good since the trade, and veteran point guard Derrick Rose has stepped up as the team’s third option on offense now that Butler has departed.
Player To Watch
Boston forward Jaylen Brown missed his team’s game on Monday with a tailbone injury. It does not seem serious and it remains to be seen if he will be available for this matchup. Brown is averaging 11.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per contest on the season.
The Timberwolves acquired Jerryd Bayless as one of the pieces in the Butler trade. He isn’t a star but a nice scorer off the bench. Bayless has been dealing with a knee injury and is not expected to play in this contest.
Free NBA ATS Picks
The Celtics had a nice season a year ago and then got Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward back from injury, which is why they were expected to be so good this year. That hasn’t been the case thus far and this could be another loss. Minnesota his feeling good and has enough talent to win this game at home.
Take the Timberwolves on the moneyline in NBA gambling. The “under” could be the play in this one as this could be one of those rare NBA games in which the teams don’t even combine for 200 points.
NBA ATS Pick: Minnesota Timberwolves 102, Boston Celtics 97
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